Some details about this test strand for people with curly hair: this strand was extremely frizzy and quite dry, but not so dry that I was concerned for the integrity of my hair. I also normally use silicones on my hair to keep it moisturized and keep the frizz down, and I had heard that silicones can make the henna reoxidize so I was initially trying to not use my normal go-to conditioner that has been amazing for my curls (Bioterra's Ultra Moisturizing Conditioner, Sally's). I eventually broke down and just used it, and it didn't seem to make the henna come back at all so that was a relief, and it helped to restore the moisture in the strand and the frizz calmed down.
The next day I did Color Oops all over my head. Based on the results I had with the test strand, I would not need to leave the Color Oops on the blonde parts of my hair as long as my roots. I went ahead and applied the remover to all of my natural hair first, saving the blonde parts for the end. Then I wrapped my hair in plastic and went out in the sun to give it some heat. I checked my hair every 15 minutes or so to make sure nothing was melting off, and it was fine. After 2 hours I began the long and tedious process of rinsing my hair. I knelt in the tub and ran the water over my head, setting a timer. After 15 minutes of rinsing I started to notice my hair had more gold tones reemerging that were not present while the Color Oops was on my head. I've heard other people experiencing this too. Right before I began the rinsing process I could see my natural hair completely...my ashy dark blonde roots and the bright blonde parts that had been bleached. There was no red or golden tones on my natural hair before I started rinsing, but the bleached parts were very yellow. So it's kind of baffling to me as to why I couldn't get the stuff rinsed off before these tones came back, but it's also very motivating for me because I got to see my natural hair color again! That means its possible. Also a point to mention, I rinsed my hair in cold water both with the strand test and with the full head application. My reasoning behind this is because when I made my henna mixture I used hot water as directed by the Khadi company. The hot water activates the henna and kick starts the oxidation process. So for me that means if I use hot water during the Color Oops rinse, there is more of a chance that the red tones will pop back up.
After 15 minutes of rinsing I shampooed with Bioterra's Color Protecting shampoo, mostly because my hair was soooo dry during the rinsing it felt like straw, and I know this shampoo is gentle and moisturizing and adds slip to the hair. Yes it has silicones in it, and yes I probably "should" have used the charcoal and clay shampoo to further strip the hair but honestly, this is a long term goal for me with the biggest priority being the integrity of my hair. I wanted to get my hair moisturized and back to health asap to avoid breakage. I can always do another treatment later on. I rinsed for another 15 minutes and did a deep conditioning treatment, Cantu's deep conditioning mask (silicone free), and left it on for about 45 minutes. Then I rinsed and followed with my usual Bioterra Conditioner with silicones to bring my hair back to life. After I rinsed, I combed my hair and let it air dry and here are the results.
The first picture is in direct sunlight and it definitely still shows a lot of gold and brass, but it really is all in the lighting because wow was my hair blonde! Yes its bright yellow and orange shades of blonde, but I can see my natural hair color all through my hair where I had streaks, and there is definite contrast now.
The second and third pictures are honestly what it looks like more right now, but the remaining henna still reflects very much in the summer afternoon sun. But it is livable. I am feeling more like myself than I have since I started using henna and I am extremely optimistic. I am 100% certain I will successfully be able to go platinum with one or two more Color Oops sessions and a bleach/tone at the salon. My plan right now is to wait a week (maybe less if my hair shows me it's ready) and then Color Oops again for another two hours and see where I am at. The more henna I can remove with this process the better my bleaching experience will be, and the better the results. I don't want platinum hair that has an orange sheen in the sun so I will definitely be removing all of the henna before bleaching.
One thing to note is that with my full head application of Color Oops I did not apply the bentonite clay after...and that may have been why more gold and orange tones showed back up after rinsing. I wanted to, but my hair was so dry and I know bentonite clay can be drying as well. But I plan on doing a bentonite treatment maybe later today or tomorrow (I did the Color Oops yesterday) and hopefully it will still grab some of those molecules and remove them. Ultimately, this is going to be a slow process and that's ok. I like a challenge and I have good patience. I won't be running out and frantically bleaching my hair, I will be taking my time and doing it right and respecting my hair in the process.
I will continue to post pictures in the future on this thread as I do more treatments and eventually go platinum, to prove that it is possible and to give other people hope that may be stuck with a henna color they are unhappy with. I realize I only had two layers of henna on relatively light hair, so anyone else's success will be a unique situation based on many factors. But I suspect with enough patience and care of the hair, it is definitely possible to significantly lighten or remove henna with Color Oops. It may be with some people that it has to be done over and over to cut through each individual layer of henna...so someone who has been hennaing their hair monthly for years would have to expect that they won't see any lightening for several uses because the remaining layers will still be quite dark. I recommend for anyone looking to lighten henna to research all the factors that I did before making any decisions: What kind of henna did you use, and does it have metallic salts? What is your long-term goal and what realistic timeframe can you give yourself to achieve it? How important to you is the length and condition of your hair? And always, always, always do a test strand before committing to a whole head application of anything
Re: Henna to Platinum Blonde Journey
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